Fernandinho declared it an honour to finally don the club shirt during his City debut in South Africa

“I’ve been looking forward to my debut for the last month, it felt like the first day at school!” smiled the Brazilian.

“Being able to play in such a big team is very exciting. It is a special moment to play for your new club for the first time, especially for a club like City.

“It felt like a great honour to play with such big names and fantastic players.

“I don’t feel 100% fit yet but I have two weeks of pre-season now to train, then hopefully I will feel top quality.”

Although Fernandinho is adapting well to his new surroundings, he admits the biggest task he faces is getting used to the language.

However, being fluent in four foreign tongues, he is confident that in time he can make it five!

“I already feel very happy at the club but the biggest challenge for me now is the language,” he said.

“Although I understand English, I need to learn how to speak it better.

“This is the thing I need to get used to rather than the football. I speak Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Russian so hopefully it won’t be too long!”

...Fernandinho

Fernandinho was one of Pellegrini’s first signings since taking over the reins last month and the former Shakhtar Donetsk man says the pre-season tour has been very useful in terms of getting to know the new manager.

“Although Manuel is new the players are already getting used to his style on and off the pitch,” he revealed.

“Pre-season is a good time for this, we can learn his personality.

“I am enjoying working with him, but I think it will always take more time for the players and the manager to get used to each other fully.

“It seems like he has that real winning mentality and a strong football philosophy that he will make the players understand.”